By Lookout Staff

October 8, 2010 -- The controversial selection of taxi franchises for Santa Monica will return to the City Council on Tuesday. The council was supposed to vote on the issue in June, but the item was delayed supposedly for technical procedural reasons.

The council last year adopted a taxi franchise system as a method to reduce the number of Downtown cabs and the perceived problems, including pollution, that come with them. Thirteen companies applied for franchises, and city staff has recommended five for a fleet of 50 cabs each.

Those associated with companies not recommended for franchises have complained and blasted the process. They held a protest outside City Hall prior to the June meeting when the council was expected to vote on the staff recommendation. City staff was forced to release information on the method it used to determine the recommendation, See:City Releases Taxi Franchise Selection Rankings, July, 12, 2010.)

Also on Tuesday, the council will address another proposal aimed at reducing the number of exercisers on Adelaide Drive and Fourth Street. Mayor Bobby Shriver has taken significant interest in this issue since he lives in the neighborhood.

A proposed ordinance would make it illegal to obstruct a sidewalk to the extent that it leaves less than four feet of width for pedestrians. The ordinance does not specifically note Adelaide, but the staff report attached to it does.

The council in March banned exercise equipment and professional fitness programs in median strips and parkways to address the Adelaide issue (See: Exercise Equipment Banned_Adelaide Drive, March 1, 2010), and the City recently banned daytime parking for non-residents on Adelaide from Fourth to Seventh streets.

“The increased sitting, lying and stationary exercising activities on public sidewalks have significantly hampered pedestrian and vehicular access in and across public sidewalks throughout the city,” the staff report states. “A person engaging in stationary exercising activities … or resting … in between exercise routines could easily occupy the entire width of a public sidewalk. These obstructions force pedestrians off the sidewalks and onto nearby roadways, thus significantly increasing the likelihood of collisions between pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles.”

An agenda item that might raise some eyebrows is the one for “amending the municipal code regarding matchmaking and escort services.” A 1954 Santa Monica ordinance prohibits “escort services, personal introduction services, marriage bureaus, lonely hearts clubs or other businesses of a like nature.” The staff report states this is “not consistent with current widespread acceptance of matchmaking services, most notably internet-based services, as a means of social introductions.”

The proposed ordinance would legalize dating services, but would continue the ban on escorts. The proposal calls for a police permit and a criminal background check “to ensure the legitimacy of the business.”